Pablo Torre received backlash for his anti-jargon take on the NFL media. Screen grab: ‘The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz’
Meadowlark MediaNFLBy Ben Axelrod on

A discussion that occurred on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz went viral on Wednesday, with many in the football media community responding to Pablo Torre’s stance on the prevalence of film analysis and the manner in which it’s often discussed.

Torre’s comments were spurred by a clip from this week’s episode of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants, which showed Drake Maye breaking down a play with the team’s front office ahead of the NFL Draft. While fellow guest co-host Domonique Foxworth marveled at Maye’s ability to quickly recite terminology like “dolphin right 72 H angle” to Giants head coach Brian Daboll, Torre was less enthusiastic about the clip, which he used to make a larger point about the state of football media.

“I hate this entire genre — of video, of person, of cultural trend,” Torre said. “All we just heard was a bunch of jargon that 99 percent of the audience has no idea what it means at all.

“I think Dan Orlovsky’s really good at what he does. I think he’s the guy who’s probably the best at the telestration and the breaking down and the dissection. But it just feels like a lot of people nodding at something that they think they should be impressed by as opposed to actually knowing what’s happening and we’re getting away from the actual premise of like, ‘Football players doing something on the field that is good,'” Torre later added, before stating: “I just think we fetishize jargon.”

We wrote up Torre’s take under the headline “Pablo Torre is sick of NFL film analysis content: ‘We fetishize jargon,’” which drew a reaction from many of his peers. Such reactions typically fit into one of three categories, the first being those disagreeing with Torre’s anti-jargon take on a scale that ranged from disappointment to outright outrage.

The second — and perhaps smallest — category consisted of those (including this author) agreeing with the former ESPN senior writer.

The third — and perhaps largest — category consisted of people who didn’t necessarily agree or disagree with Torre, but understand the nuance of his point and the need for such content to be easily digestible to the audience. Those who fit into that category included ex-NFL players-turned-media members Chris Long and Geoff Schwartz, as well as ESPN’s Mina Kimes and The Ringer’s Benjamin Solak.

Torre, himself, also took to X to clarify his stance.

“To be clear: I really like analysis of complicated subjects that makes me smarter!” he wrote. “Not stuff that feels inaccessible by design.”

For what it’s worth, it was those who fit into the third category of reactions who seemed to have either watched the segment or actually read the article we posted, rather than just reacting to an admittedly limited headline. It’s also worth noting that Torre and Foxworth’s conversation was far more lighthearted than some made it out to be, with Foxworth playing up his bonafides as an ex-NFL player and Torre leaning into being a jealous nerd.

Still, Torre’s comments were noteworthy and clearly sparked a larger conversation about how film analysis — and the accompanying jargon — is used in football media. We did our best to accurately reflect those comments and the tone in which they were delivered. We do, however, regret not using a picture of Torre in a narwhal costume for the post.

[The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz]

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod